Instep crampons are far more popular on the continent than they are in the UK because they have glaciers over there and we don’t. Wandering around on glaciers is a popular pastime in the Alps and because most folk tend to stay on the flat bits instep crampons are perfectly adequate for the job. In the UK, walkers and climbers want to climb steeper snow and ice so more substantial crampons with front points are required. This lovely pair of crampons come from the Fulpmes area of Austria and date from the 1920’s or earlier. A group of blacksmiths from that area eventually got together to form a company called Stubai and we suspect these crampons are of that ilk even though they don’t have the Stubai stamp.